Aaron Gate (left) sporting his national champions jersey, and Laurence Pithie with Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race winner Mauro Schmid. Photo: XDS Astana
Kiwi riders Aaron Gate and Laurence Pithie both earned podium places at the UCI WorldTour Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race on Sunday, ahead of New Zealand's premier national road cycling event.
Following on from the debut WorldTour victory for Ally Wollaston in the women's race on Saturday, Gate and Pithie finished second and third respectively in a sprint finish of the men's race in Geelong, near Melbourne.
Swiss rider Mauro Schmid held off the favourites to win in scorching heat that peaked over 40C, with Gate (XDS Astana) and Pithie (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) leading home a select sprint bunch.
It was the first WorldTour podium for Gate with his XDS Astana team, while Pithie came close to repeating his debut WorldTour victory of last year in the Geelong race.
It capped a great day for the kiwis with Corbin Strong (Premier Tech) and Pithie's team-mate, Finn Fisher-Black finishing sixth and 10th respectively, to complete a quartet of kiwi riders to finish in the top-10 in a WorldTour race.
The New Zealand contingent will all head across the Tasman for the Elite Road National Championship, which attracts the country's top professional and amateur road cyclists.
This event will take place on 6-8 February in Timaru and include a Time Trial and Road Race National Championships.
Gate will attempt to defend his national road title in a classy field, with nine kiwi men competing at WorldTour or UCI Pro level.
Wollaston also heads to Timaru looking to add the national road title to her list of achievements, and will also take on a powerful bunch of women's WorldTour or UCI Pro Continental riders.
The men's UCI World Tour then heads to the Middle East before the European spring season gets underway.
